Frederick hartje



(No Model.)

F. HARTJE. BRACELET AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

Patented Mar. 11, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK HARTJE, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y.

BRACELET AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 423,246, dated March11, 1890.

Application filed September 25, 1889.

To aZZ whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, FREDERICK HARTJE, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, in thecounty of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Bracelets and Methods of Making the Same, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a novel construction of bracelets and to a novelmode of making bracelets, both of which improvements will be hereinaftermore fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a top View of a braceletembodying my improvements, about full size. Fig. 2 is a side elevationof the same. Fig. 3 is a top View of the bracelet distended or openedout. 4 is a side view of the same. Fig. 5 is a plan viewfof the wireused in. constructing the bracelet and showing the attachment of thepivot-rings. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the wire bent into circularform. Fig. 7 is a similar view of the wire illustrating the endsoverlapped and the mode of giving elasticity to the wire. Fig. Sis a topView of the wire shown at Fig. 7 before overlapping the ends.

I11 the-several views the same part will be found designated by the samenumeral of reference.

2 represents the band or wrist-encircling portion of the bracelet, whichband portion is made of wire. The ends of the band are provided witheyes 3 3. 4 designates a coupling or connecting bar having at each endan eye or ring 5, which is linked into one of the eyes 3 of the band.The bar 4 is preferably curved to correspond or nearly conform to thecurvature of the band 2 and is adapted to be provided with any suitableor desired ornamentation. I have illustrated the same as bearing twodiaamond settings 6 but of course any other style or character ofornamentation may be employed instead.

One of the objects of the employment of the bar 4 is to adapt thebracelet to be variously and thickly ornamented, for with the base orsupport afforded by the bar 4 it will be observed that the bracelet maybe as fully and diiferently ornamented as a lace pin,

Serial No. 325,014. ((No model.)

like a wire finger-ring, is capable of a limited amount of embellishmentonly.

Another of the objects of employment of the bar 4 is to control themovements of the ends of the band in the opening of the band. The endsof the bar being coupled to the ends of the band when the overlappingends of the band are pulled apart and then pulled laterally the baroperates to hold and guide the ends of the band and raise the same, andbecomes practically a continuation of the band between its ends, thusproducing a band of greater size or circumference, as seen at Figs. 3and 4, whereby the bracelet may be readily slipped over the hand ontothe wrist or arm of the wearer. The band is made or formed to possess aspring action, by which the parts are caused to normally assume therelationship seen at Figs. 1 and.2. In opening out the parts to theconditions shown at Figs. 3 and 4 the pull or force is exerted againstthe tension or resiliency residing in the wire band 2, and hence as soonas this pull or force is removed the inherent spring of the bandoperates to return the parts quickly and positively to their initialpositions, thus auto matically closing the bracelet and preventing anyaccidental detachment from the wrist of the wearer.

The mode of making the bracelet and giv ing to the band the elasticityor resiliency re ferred to will now be explained. I take a suitablelength of straight, tempered, round wire, such as seen at Fig. 5, and tothe ends of the same I solder the eyes 3 3. In said fig ure one eye 3 isshown as soldered and the other one as adapted to be. In soldering saideyes the temper of the wire at each. end is usually destroyed down toabout the point indicated by the dotted lines a, while that portion ofthe wire between the points a a remains hard and unaffected. Afterattaching the eyes 3 3 I then, with the aid of suitable tools, aspliers, work the wire round into cnrvilinear or band form, asillustrated at Fig. 6. I then proceed to give to the wire the pe culiarspring quality required to close the bracelet and cause the parts tostand nor mally in the positions shown at Figs. 1 and 2. To do this givethe wire two twists, pref erably about the center of its length, asrepresented at 7, and cause the ends to overlap, as seen at Fig. 7. Bygiving to the wire the double twist 7 the ends thereof have a tendencyto spring apart or recede laterally, as indicated by the arrows at Fig.-8 but by crossing or overlapping said ends, as illustrated at Fig. 7,this spring tendency or action is utilized to cause said end portions ofthe band to press forcibly against each other normally and to springtoward each other after having been separated and released.

I have found in making bracelets in this manner that in giving the twist7 to the wire hand there is great liability of breaking or rupturing thehardened wire. To avoid this difficulty I employ heat at the locality ofthe twist, and preferably during the twisting operation, for the purposeof removing a portion of the temper from the wire. This heat maybeobtained from ablow-pipe or a burner, as 8, and may extend sensibly tothe localities indicated by the dotted lines I) b on each side of theportion to be twisted. When heat is thus applied, there is no liabilitywhatever of breaking the wire. The twists in the wire are preferablyafterward filed or otherwise treated, so as to be invisible. The eyes 5are subsequently linked into the eyes 3 and closed. v

I deem the employment of the eyes 3 and 5 of some importance, because itenables me to open the bracelet to a greater extent than by any otherform of joint or coupling thatl am aware of.

When the parts have been assembled or put together, as shown at Figs. 1and 2, the bar 4 operates to prevent the ends of the bands from becominguncrossed accidentally or by design, and serves also as a great aid tothe user in putting on and taking off the bracelet.

Various changes in detail construction may be made without departingfrom the spirit of my invention, the gist of which has already beendescribed, and'will now be embodied in the following clauses of claim.

- What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1.. A wire bracelet having overlapping ends, and a twist formed in thewire to cause said ends to have a spring action toward each other,substantially as set forth.

2. A wire bracelet having overlapping ends, a twisted portion betweensaid ends, and a connecting-bar, substantially as set forth.

3. A bracelet consisting of a Wire band the ends of which overlap andare provided each with an eye, and a connecting-bar having eyes at itsends linked into the eyes at the ends of the wire band, substantially asset forth.

4:. The method of making self-closing wire bracelets, which consists,first, in giving to a piece of tempered wire a circular or rounded.form; secondly, in twisting said wire between its ends, and, thirdly, incrossing or overlapping said ends, substantially as set forth.

5. The method of making self-closing wire bracelets, which consists ingiving to a piece of tempered wire a circular or rounded form and thenin heating and twisting said wire between its ends, substantially as setforth.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, this 24th day of September, A. D. 1889.

. FREDERICK I-IARTJ E.

Witnesses:

JAooB FELBEL, MARTIN LAYDEN.

